The moment I finished my last touches on this post, I visited, Apple’s website and there you see the iPad 2 in all its glory. Go there if you want to.

And I know that you can learn more about the iPad 2 features and other goodies, but I am writing this to share with you what happened in the live event that happened March 2, 2011.

I just like to really say this now, but I do think that 2011 is indeed the year of the iPad 2.

During the event, Steve flashed the words “2011: the year of the copycats?” with all the other companies that have followed through with their own version of a tablet: HP, Samsung, Android, Blackberry and Motorola, to name a few.

The new iPad is now faster, lighter, thinner, with two cameras (at the front and at the back), gyro, iOS 4.3, FaceTime and Photobooth, iMovie, Garageband, 65,000 iPad apps, 3G on AT&T and Verizon, 10 hr battery life, and amazingly, the same prices.

It is available in black and white. With smart covers to protect your gadget. What’s cool is that the white iPad is not going to come out months from now, but it is going to be released at the day 1.

So here are the things that sets the iPad 2 apart from its predecessor and from other tabs in the market:

The new iOS 4.3

This is the newest software upgrade that’s gonna come out this month in time for the release of the iPad 2.

This upgrade boasts a better Safari performance with the addition of the nitro javascript engine which makes this browser 2x faster, the iTunes home sharing, improvements on the AirPlay, preference for iPad switch mute or rotation lock, and it also transforms the iPhone 4 into a personal hotspot; and this is available for the iPod Touch, the iPhone, and of course the iPad.

Video App

The video app for the iPad is definitely going to make waves with its precision editor, multitrack audio recording, new themes, AirPlay to Apple TV, sharing your videos in HD, and the universal app.

A5 chip processor

With the A5 chip, the CPU is 2x faster with graphics 9x faster than the previous, while the battery consumption is the same as the A4 chip; the battery is still at the usual 10 hours as with the first gen iPad.

Lighter and thinner

The new iPad is only 8.8 thick which is 33% thinner than the previous iPad; this makes it actually thinner than the iPhone 4. It’s also really light at only 1.3 pounds as opposed to the 1.5 pound weight of its predecessor.

New apps

The new iPad now has some really cool apps, but the Apple team has highlighted the iMovie and the GarageBand apps which makes the new iPad a joy for the music enthusiasts and for kids who want to have musical training “on wheels”.

The musical instruments can be manipulated using touch of course, but now the sounds are enhanced because you can actually make it sound depending on how hard or soft you hit the keys; this is because of the assistance of the accelerometer.

GarageBand is really remarkable, with touch instruments, and guitar apps. Xander Soren, the Director for Music Marketing gave a demo for the GarageBand.

Another cool thing about it is when you change instruments, you can see a different set of keys and you’re basically looking at a new instrument with graphics that are to die for. There is also a record button in every instrument so that you can always let your kids or yourself record your first steps to becoming a music star.

The GArageBand is coming out on Marc 11 for $4.99.

Your thoughts

What do you think about the new iPad? Is it going to take a very big lead in the tablet category or is it just another one of those “updates”?